Work-piercing device for sewing leather and the like.



J. L. WHEELER.

WORK PIERCING DEVICE FOR SEWING LEATHER AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED 050.4. 1913.

15184959. Patented May 23,1916.

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JOHN L. WHEELER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MElSiNE ASSIGNMENTS, -TO SIMPLEX SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MIS- SOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

'WORK-PIERCING DEVICE FOR SEWING LEATHER AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 1916.

Application'filed. December 4, 1913. Serial N 0. 804,592.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. WHEELER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful- Improvements in fork-Piercing Devices for Sewing Leather and the like, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to the sewing of leather and similar heavy material, and more particularly to the stitching .of soles to the welts or uppers of shoes.

It has for its principal objects to provide, in a'similar manner, a channel or groove in the surface of the material in which the stitching thread is laid or embedded between the respective punctures; to produce an improved puncturing or piercing device so as to obviate the necessity for employing a separate channeling or grooving device; and to attain certain other advantages which will hereinafter more fully appear.

The invention consists essentially in providing an awl or a needle or thread-carrying puncturing element with a major channeling portion on one side'and a correlated minor channeling portion on the opposite side, said portions being arranged and adapted to cut or indent the material between the punctures therein so as to produce, in effect, a continuous channel or" groove.

The invention further consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed. In the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is a fragmentarywiew showing, in section, I

two layers of material representing, respectively, a shoe sole and a welt punctured by an awl made according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a section through the two layers of work along the line of stitching, illustrating a loop-lock-stitch, and the manner in which the awl produces the channel or groove for depressing or embedding the locking thread; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary and 8 are, respectively, an inverted plan view and a section showing the kind of puncture and channel made by the awl illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6; Fig. 9 is a view illustrating a further modification of the awl wherein the channel-forming portion is blunt or rounded so as to indent instead of cutting the material to form the channel; Figs. 10 and 11 are, respectively, views of a hooked needle and an eye needle provided with channel-forming portions according to the present invention; Figs. 12 and 13 are views illustrating a further modification wherein the awl or the needle is detachably mounted 'in a divided or separable holder which is provided .with a channeling portion; and

Fig. 14 is a section on the line 1414 of Fig. 13.

Referring now more particularly to Figs.

'1" to 4, inclusive, two layers of'workare shown, representing, respectively, a shoe sole 1 and a welt 2 to which the sole is stitched. The two layers are shown as stitched together by a loop-lock-stitch comprising a stitching threadproper 3, and a locking loop thread 4, the stitching thread being looped through the work from the welt side and the loking thread beingv carried along the bottom of the sole and looped through the loops of the stitching thread. The interlooped threads 3 and 4 aredrawn up into flared or tapered enlargements 5 of the punctures 6. which are formed by. a tapered-enlargement 7 of the awl 8, while the thread between the punctures is drawn into the grooves or channels 10 formed between the punctures by the channeling portions 9 on the awl.

The channeling portions 9 on the awl may be formed wedge-shaped with a relatively sharp cutting edge, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so as to cut into the material, or they may be made blunt or rounded, as shown in Figs. 9 and 11, so as to indent the material in forming the channel or groove. These channeling portions 9 are preferably provided on both sides of the awl. as shown, the major portion on the one side extending farther than the minor portion on the opposite side s0 that as the awl forms the successive punctures through the work a channel is cut in the surface thereof ahead of each puncture by said major channeling portion of the awl while the minor portion puncturing stem so as to provide fora given maximum length of stitch or distance between punctures, and it is only necessary to have the .minor channeling portion extend slightly from the side of the puncturing stem so as to overlap the preceding channeling cut or indentation in the region of the puncture sufficiently toprevent obliteration of that portion of the channel, as would happen owing to the displacing and crowding of the material in the region of the puncturing stem during the puncturing operation. This relative arrangement of puncturing and channeling portions is also advantageous in travelinga' circular or other curved line, as for example, in rounding the toe portion of a 'shoe sole, particularly a rather sharp pointed toe. In such cases the minor channeling portion maintains the continuity of the channel without appreciably cross-cutting the channeling cut made by the major channeling portion during the preceding operation. Hence, a neater finish is obtained than if the channeling portions were extended .a considerable distance on both sides of thepuncturing stem. 7

.In cases where it is'not desirable to enlarge the punctures to receive the interlooped threads, the aWl may be made straight so as to form the punctures and groove as shown in Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive. In the modification illustrated in, Figs. 12 to 14, inclusive, the awl is detachably mounted in a divided or separable holder.

That is, the holdercomprises two separable sections 11, 11, which areinserted through a clamping member 12 provided witha set Witnesses screw 13, said set screw being adapted to be equipped with channeling portions, es-

pecially where the awl and needle enter the Work from opposite sides. Inthis way both 1 sides of the work may be channeled.

Obviously, the invention is adapted for either straight or. curved awls or needles,

and may be used foreither-machineor hand Work; and the construction and arrange- -ment. admits of considerable modification without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

I claim: Means for puncturing and channeling leather and thelike for the sewing thereof,

the same comprising a puncturing stem,' and cooperati g members on Oppositew sides of I said puncturing stem for forming a channel in the surface of the work connectedly, with a series ofpunctures pierced successively by major channel former and operating inadvance of the respective punctures,,and the other member being relatively short but arranged and adapted to overlap the preceding channel formedby said major portion so as to preserve the continuity of the channel. I f

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- 7 I nesses.

G ORGE A. PENNINGTON, .STELLA HILL. 7

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the f'commissioner or iatents,

wash z esn- JOHN L. WHEELER. 1

said stem, one of said channeling members being relatively elongated to constitute the 

